Support for fire extinguishers



July 21, 1953 R. w. RYCROFT SUPPORT FOR FIRE EXTINGUISHERS Filed NOV. 21, 1947 tion. v Figure'3 is a plan view ofmy improved holder Patented July 21, 1953 Robert William Rycroft, El Monte, Calif., assignor to Ontario Fire Prevention;& Service', Toronto,

Ontario, Canada In Canada November 28, 1946 Application November 21, 1947, Serial No. 7 87 ,304

v This invention relates to holders-for'fire extinguisher bombs and the principal object of the invention is to provide an exceedingly simple and inexpensive holder which will normally support a fire extinguisher bomb in any desired position where, upon being broken, it will be most effective in extinguishing the source of the fire and which, in the presence of excessive heat, will allow the bomb to fall and smash itself to liberate the fire extinguishing liquid contained therein.

, The principal'feature of the invention consists in utilizing a thermoplastic element for supporting a fire extinguisher bomb, and preferably the invention. is carried into effect by forming a strip of thermoplastic material into a bracket having a back portion to be secured to a supporting surface and an outwardly extending portion adapted under normal temperature variations to retain weight of the bomb to allow it to fall and scatter its contents.

a minimum of material is obtained and the'quantity of heat necessary to permit the bomb to deform the bracket is reduced.

r A still further feature consists in shaping the outwardly extending portion of the bracket .to

form afspiral to receive the extinguisherbomb.

In the accompanying drawings Figure '1 is a-perspective view of a strip of material from which my holder may be made.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the preferred form of my completed holdershowing-in dotted lines a fire extinguisher bomb retained in postas shown in Figure 2. V

Figure 4 is a view of an alternative form of fire extinguisher bomb holder embodying my invention.

' Referring to the drawings my holder is preferably made from a long flat tapered strip l of thermoplastic material such as Lucite, and this strip when heated to a plastic state, about 150 F. is simultaneously twisted and bent through substantially 90 as indicated at 2 adjacent its widest I end so'that the flat end portion 3 forms a back support adapted to-be attached to a supporting wall or surface 4 while the remainder of the strip which extends outwardly therefrom is then bent I about a suitable form into a spiral 5, the axis of 3 Claims. (01. 248-314) v the fire extinguisher bomb but adapted upon excessive rise in temperature to deform under the which is substantially parallel and in line with the back supporting portion 3, said spiral being adapted to receive and retain a fire extinguisher bomb 6. I

In using my support the back portion 3 is secured to any vertical supporting surface 4 so that the enlarged end of the spiral 5 is uppermost and the spiral axis is substantially vertical. The pear-shaped bomb 6 containing a quantity of fire extinguishing liquid is then placed in the spiral with the narrow neck portion downward and embraced in the smaller coils where it will be securely retained under all normal ambient temperature conditions.

In the event of fire, the temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the holder will increase abnormally bringing the thermoplastic material forming the bracket to a plastic state, thus destroying its rigidity, and the moment of the bomb about the heat-weakened bracket portion 2 will cause the outwardly extending portion to deform and sag allowing the bomb to drop and smash on the floor to release its fire inhibiting contents.

-It will be readily understood that with the strip twisted through 90 at 2, the strip width throughout the outwardly extending bracket portion is substantially upright or parallel to the axis of the spiral 5 to provide the bracket with the maximum resistance to the bending moment of the bomb 6, and'the coils of the spiral are wound with the strip width upright to increase their rigidity. This arrangement eliminates the necessity of increasing the strip area adjacent the bend to enable the bracket to support the bomb, and therefore the amount of heat necessary to sufficiently plasticize the holder to permit the bomb to fall is reduced toaminimum. Further, itwill. be apparent that the holder Will, when subject to heat, fail at '3, and due to the twist in the strip the outwardly extending bracket portion will, under the moment'ofthe bomb, tend to simultaneously untwist and sag to ensure that the bomb is allowed to drop free of its spiral retainer 5.

It will be appreciated of course that the end of I From the foregoing it will be apparent that my I 3 exceedingly simple holder may be very easily and cheaply produced and will provide an easily installed means for securely holding a fire extinguisher bomb under normal ambient temperature conditions but will ensure that the bomb is released in the event of fire.

In addition to the automatic feature of my holder, it will also be appreciated that its spiral construction ensures that the bomb, which is securely held against accidental dislodgement, may, when required, be instantly removed and thrown into a near-by fire. I

It will be understood that the principal feature of this invention may be applied in numerous forms to accomplish the result of the deformation of a thermoplastic member under an excessive rise in temperature to release a fire extinguishing bomb from a, holder in which it is securely retained at normal temperatures.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A fire extinguisher bomb support comprising a flat thermoplastic strip of rectangular cross section rigid at normal ambient temperatures but pliable upon an excessive rise of ambient temperature and formed to provide a back portion adapted to be secured to a wall with the strip against the wall, and an outwardly extending fusible cantilever portion forming a gravity release under weight of a bomb on excessive rise of temperature and connected to the back portion by a strip portion twisted through 93 substantially at the plane of the back portion providing maximum resistance to bending under moment forces at the juncture of the cantilever and back portions without increasing strip dimensions requiriiig minimum heat absorption for fusing, and a bomb-retaining means supported solely from said cantilever portion at the end thereof and adapted to load said cantilever with the moment of a bomb supported thereby, said bomb-retaining means coinprising'a spiral formation extending above said cantilever section and having a vertical axis lying substantially in the lane thereof with the upwardly spiralling convolutions progressively increasing in radius and terminating in a curved upwardly extending free end portion offset from vertical alignment with said outwardly extending cantilever portion in a direction transversely of said cantilever portion.

2. A fire extinguisher bomb support formed from a fiat thermoplastic strip of rectangular cross section substantially rigid at normal ainbient temperatures but pliable under excessive rise of ambient temperature, said strip being formed to provide a back portion adapted to be secured to a wall with the strip against the wall, an outwardly extending fusible cantilever portion forming a gravity release under Weight of a bomb on excessive rise or ambient temperature and connected to the'bacli portion by a strip portion twisted through 90 substantially at theplane of the back portion providing maximum resistance to bending under moment forces applied to said cantilever section at the-junction of the cantilever and backing section without increase in strip thickness requiring minimum heat absorption for fusing, the end of said cantilever portion remote from said backing portion being formed into a vertical upwardly extending spiral with the convolutions increasing in radii above the cantilever section and constituted to locate the strip in a vertical plane and terminating in a curved upwardly extending free end portion offset from vertical alignment with said outwardly extending cantilever portion in a direction transversely of said cantilever portion,

, 3. A fire extinguisher bomb support formed from a fiat thermoplastic strip of rectangular cross section rigid at normal ambient temperatures but pliable under an excessive rise of ambient temperature and tapering in width from one end to the other, the wider end of said strip being formed into a back portion adapted to be secured to a wall with the strip against the wall and having a fusible cantilever portion forming a gravity release under weight of a bomb on excessive rise of ambient temperature extending outwardly therefrom the plane of the strip being vertical and connected to the back. portion by a strip portion twisted through substantially at the plane of the back portion to provide maximum resistance to bending under moment forces applied to said cantilever section at the juncture of the cantilever and back portions for a given strip thickness requiring minimum heat absorption for fusing, the narrower end of said strip being located at the end of said cantilever section and being formed into an upwardly extending spiral formation having con'volutions of progressively increasing radii upwardly of said cantilever portion, said spiral strip portion being in a vertical plane and decreasing in width towards the upper end terminating in a curved upwardly extending free end portion oil-set from vertical alignment with said outwardly extending cantilever portion in a'direction transversely of said cantilever portion.

ROBERT WILLIAM RYCROFT.

v References Cited in. the ifile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

